Michael Andrew Saiger’s unisex jewelry label Miansai takes vintage war relics — bullets, model airplane parts, military pins, and coins — and retools them into supremely cool pieces of wearable history. A world-traveler and former model, Saiger crafted his first piece of jewelry his junior year of college; quickly parlaying his knowledge of antiques (his mother owns an antique shop), and quirky-classic personal style into an entire line of jewelry and accessories. Inspired by icons of industrialism like construction sites and ship yards, Miansai’s pieces exude that rustily nautical 1940’s sort of charm: subdued and classic with bad ass undercurrents (think of them as the jewelry equivalents of a Jack and Coke.) Right in time for this summer, Miansai has unveiled some of our favorite pieces yet. Using the brightly-hued rope cord that invokes nostalgic visions of sandy beaches, zinc oxide, and lifeguard whistles, Saiger created a line of beach-ready bracelets which fasten with gold fishing hooks — basically, summer in bracelet form. With OAK’s new beach store launching on Fire Island, we’re looking forward to seeing Miansai bracelets in action all over the beach all summer long. Check out OAKAZINE’s interview with Michael Andrew Saiger and check out his pieces at OAK. Interview after the jump.
